Belonging and loneliness in cyberspace: impacts of social media on adolescents’ well-being

Objectives: The rapidly shifting landscape of social media technology presents challenges to researchers and clinicians attempting to understand the impact of such technology on individuals’ psychosocial development. In this paper, we provide a historical perspective on research exploring the relationship between social media use and loneliness and belonging among adolescents and young adults.Method: Rather than attempting an exhaustive review of literature in this area, we provide a narrative review on the evolution of social media technology over the past 20 years and its impact on socialization experiences of adolescents and young adults.Results: Our narrative review, based on three prominent theoretical models in the field, reveals somewhat divergent findings, which may, to a large extent, reflect the remarkable evolution over the past few years in how youths use communication media technology. In this review, we consider individual, societal, and cultural factors that may explain preferences for various forms of online communication and related social outcomes such as belonging and loneliness.Conclusions: Rather than asking whether social media involvement leads to feelings of loneliness and isolation for youth or opens a new frontier for connectedness and belonging, a more useful question is under what circumstances and for whom do these outcomes occur. Social media technology can be both a deterrent and a boost to youths’ sense of social well-being, depending on the nature of its use. We provide some cautions and guidelines for utilizing social media to promote psychological well-being among youth.